Focus #2 – SIMULTAN

In the videos All That is Solid Melts into Air (Mona Vatamanu & Florin Tudor), The Unforeseen (Pamela Breda), and A Hard Currency of Memories (Albert Sten), three distinct perspectives converge on a common theme: the instability of our perception of reality, whether it be physical, virtual, or personal. These works explore how human actions, technological constructs, and ephemeral memories shape and influence our understanding of existence. They suggest that perhaps the true nature of reality lies not in solidity or permanence, but in our capacity to grapple with its inevitable flux.

In All That is Solid Melts into Air, the physical reality of Rosia Montana becomes a metaphor for the fragile relationship between humanity and its environment. Through its portrayal of ecological degradation and corporate exploitation, the film reveals a dystopian narrative where nothing is truly solid. The jimages, where the natural landscapes melting in industrial waste creates an apocalyptic visual language, mirroring the biblical Revelations that underscore the soundtrack. Here, destruction becomes not just an environmental tragedy but a historical echo, evoking humanity’s repeated cycles of exploitation and erasure.

Breda’s The Unforeseen shifts the focus to the simulation hypothesis, where the line between reality and artificiality blurs entirely. The protagonist’s solitary journey through an empty, yet eerily familiar city reflects the existential uncertainty of living in a potentially simulated universe. The lack of movement and the ambiguous nature of her surroundings evoke a profound sense of alienation, inviting viewers to question the reliability of their perceptions. Is reality a tangible construct, or is it as fragile and malleable as the digital simulations we increasingly rely upon?

In A Hard Currency of Memories, the instability of memory serves as both a personal and collective crisis. Through interviews and archival footage, Sten examines the vulnerability of our digital identities and the infrastructures that preserve them. Memory, once considered an innate human faculty, is now externalized in fragile digital formats, susceptible to loss and decay. The film’s exploration of data recovery is both a technical and emotional endeavor, highlighting how intertwined our sense of self is with the digital archives we create. Like Rosia Montana’s submerged landscapes and the simulated streets of The Unforeseen, the digital memory banks of A Hard Currency of Memories are precarious, teetering on the brink of erasure.